Iron with folding handle



Jan. 13, 1948. QB. COXHEAD IRON WITH FOLDING HANDLE Filed Dec. 22, 1945 INVENTOR.

ATTOR NE Y5 Patented Jan. 13, 1948 UNI TED "STAT E55 :PATsE-N T FF I CE I-ItON WITH FOLDING ;Gharles;B.iEoxhead,,-New:ork, N1.

1. nplicationnecember 22,-1945'; Serial-No:*636;905

:4TClaims. :1 This invention relates to irons, such -*as used *forpressing garmentsand othereloth articles' for "household-'and'personal use.

"It isan object-of the invention t0 provide-an improved iron of the'type having a folding hand-1e,

"that is, a handle' which swings' transversely into a position that reduces the -overall height of 'the iron. Such=irons are convenient' because they require less space for storage, I but the" bearings in' which -the bail of the' handle turns, when' the I handle is moved between upright and folded =po- "sition, wear and becomeloose. This results in play which may be -limited to certain directions,

"or the bail may be' loose in every'direction.

If'the 'haridlehas plavin'a directionnormal to the sole plateya "person using i their-on will ex- '-perience a looseness of-a handle when lifting'the iron "from-pr "putting it downponthe-article 'to f be pressed. If 'the'play is in adirectionparallel with the sole "plate-0f the iron, =sucn'play will -"be "taken -upevery time the userofthe iron changes thedirection of m0vement-of=the iron over the-work. While-loosenessmf the connection of the handle to the iron'does notinterfere with the operation of the iron, most people find it-vervannoying and it' therefore makes the-task ;of :ironing an increased nervous strain.

A A more particular object of this -in-vention is toprovide a construction tonpreventing' play=and *fontaki-ng up wear iniithe connection of a handle toan iron-*of the character indicated. "This -obect is '-1attai11ed by means of a 1.locking device which clamps :the :bail of the handle securely against a stop,1when': the handle isintr'aisedposition, in combination with bearingsin which' the xbafl turns'iwithmeans toritakingrupzweari in the :bearings :rso :that Lt-he. bail-:oalmot shift .awhen i-rwedgedcaaginsti the: stopi:byzthe' -'ioi:king device.

8 One feature of the tinvention relatesto :a simp aand economical constructionrxfor the bearing 1 rmeans ibyiwhich theflha-nfdle is connected With the .bodytof the iron,:andr.=by whichewearnofithe bearrings canbeitaken 11p; andsti-finesszof the 'bearings @controlled. 1'.Thetfact.thatthethaihonthe handle :of arr-'iron'oturns inrbearmgs mlbiectstorextremely ;:-:highvtemperature increasesttheiwear ofiithe'hear- :.;ings,::and makes 1 the eeliminationt of splay more ".diificult. Bearing constnuctions=iihaving'znoxplay fzwhenztheivironds zcoldnnay b comen i ec a y "loose-whemhighly heatedesince'l .themietal'tiszexl'panded by thetchangerin temperature.

iAnother feature; of theijnvention: relates .::to; a

:.:;novel v construction rrof ztherlockingirdevice. ,LThe ;invention:. provides ia:-;leverwhichewedgesrmtoa a staand:;c'1ampsi.the b'ailrofgitherhandlezsagainstt a :2 sstop'on thei body of the ironyand means are provided'ior taking'upany'wear in the fulcrum bear- 1 ing of the lever, and for controlling theWedging actionobtained by the lever in the slot.

5 Other-objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed outuas the descriptioniproceeds.

lnithmdrawing, .forming a part hereof,:in vwhichizlike 'rreferenoe' characters indicate =c0rrer10 'spondingparts in all the'views,

.;:.tial, and'ithe"bail can bemade as two :separate :parts'rextending downward ,,from opposite: ends;of

the-gripsIn the :topzsurface ofthe cover l2 there are -two:,shortigroovesi2! and 22 extending length- --wise of theiron. These grooves 2| and 22 are insubstantial alignment, and in positionzto're- :ceive aligned end portions of the bail There is a blockz t that fits over thegroove-Zl, -andthe blocki24 has a recess in its bottomface in position substantially to register with :the ;:gr00Ve 2| to form with this groove a bearing for;holding-one.end of the bail IT. A screw-26 extends through the block 24 and threads into a stud'21 of. the sole plate ll.

The'recess in' the bottom face in the block '24 isshallow so that the top wall of this recess c0n- .taots with the ball I! before the surfaces of the block 24,-on either side of the recess, come in contactwith the-cover I 2. The groove 2| and the wrecessin' the. block 24=thus provide a-split. bearing for the bail. As the screw 26 is tightened,- therefore,= it clamps the block 24- against the end- -portionof thebail l'l.

'The'screwefli has a slow thread-so thatthe :frictionrof thescrew issufiicient to hold it.=in any :-set position without resorting to a locknuhzset screwyor other expedient for holding the-screw ziiagainstrotation.

"When; the 1 iron -isassembled, the screw 25 is tgightened c nntil the -.block .24Vis clampedzagainst the end portion of the bail H with suiiicient force to provide the desired friction for resisting tuming movement of the bail H in the bearing provided by the block 24 and groove 2|. The screw 26 serves also to hold the sole plate II and cover l2 of the iron body in assembled relation.

The rearward end portion of the bail I1 is clamped down in the groove 22 by a block 34, similar to the block 24 and similarly held in position by a screw 36 which threads into a stud 31 that extends upward from the sole plate II.

The handle I swings into the folded position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3 so that the iron can be conveniently packed, or put away in a smaller storage space. When repeated movement of the handle I5, between its upright and folded positions, has caused so much wear of the ends portions of the bail 11 that they become loose in their bearings, the screws 26 and 36 are tightened to take up the play. Ordinarily these screws 26 and 36 are tightened, before any actual play develops, in order to keep the friction in the bearings great enough to make the movement of the handle stifi, so that the handle will remain in raised position even before it is locked in such position.

For holding the handle upright, when the iron is in use, it is necessary to lock the bail in its raised position. This is done by means of a looking lever 40 which swings about a fulcrum screw 42. The bail I1 comes against a stop or abutment 44 on one side of a projection 45 at the back of the body of the iron. Another part of the projection 45 has a sloping wall 41 (Figure 4) that forms with the stop 44 a slot into which the lock 40 swings to clamp the bail I! against the stop 44. The slope of the wall 41 downward and toward the vertically extending stop 44 provides a cam surface that wedges the lever 40 against the bail l 1,

The forward end of the locking lever 40 has a horizontally-extending portion 50 that serves as a handle for conveniently moving the lever 40 into and out of the slot in which it wedges against the bail H. A groove 52 extending through one side of the projection 45 provides a clearance into which the bail [1 moves when the handle is folded. The fulcrum screw 42 threads through one side of the projection 45 and extends into the rearward portion of the slot 48. The fulcrum screw 42 has an unthreaded end portion 54 that extends through the locking lever 40 and serves as the actual fulcrum bearing on which the locking lever swings. At the end of the unthreaded portion 54 there is a shoulder which is larger than the opening in locking lever 40, and this shoulder bears against the side of the locking lever 40 and pushes the locking lever further to the right as the screw 42 is screwed further through the projection 45. Ordinarily the screw 42 is turned until the shoulder at the end of the unthreaded section 54 pushes the lever 40 toward the right hand side of the slot 48 far enough to obtain a tight wedging of the lever 45 against the bail I! when the lever 40 is swung down along the sloping face of the wall 41.

This increase in the wedging action of the lever 40 by movement of the fulcrum end of the lever toward the right is made possible by having the width of the lever 40 so correlated with respect to the cam face 41 and the side of the bail that the lever 40 contacts with the side of the. bail when the fulcrum end of the lever 40 is spaced for a substantial distance from the right hand side of the slot 48. A set screw 58 threads down- 4 ward through the projection 45 and into contact with the screw 42 for holding the screw 42 against rotation after this screw 42 has been brought to the position that obtains the desired wedging action of the lever 40 against the bail. Any wear of the fulcrum bearin of the lever 40, or of the lever 40 itself, or of the surfaces of the bail l1 and wall 41 with which the lever 40 contacts, can be compensated for by loosening up the set screw 58 and turning the screw 42 to push the fulcrum end of the lever 40 to the right in the slot 48.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, but changes and modifications can be made, and features of the invention can be used in different combinations, without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

I claim as my invention:

'1. The combination of an iron and a folding handle, said handle including a ball with end portions for connecting the handle to the top of the iron, bearings in which the end portions of the bail turn to permit folding of the handle, at least one of said bearings being split with some clearance at the split, and an adjustable device for adjusting the clearance of the split bearing to control the friction of the bail in said bearing.

2. An iron including in combination a body, a folding handle comprising a grip and a bail, bearings by which the bail is connected with the body of the iron for angular movement into a folded position, a stop against which the bail abuts when swung into its upright position, locking elements for holding the bail in upright position, said locking elements including a wall and a device that moves into position between the Wall and the bail to hold the bail against said stop, a cam face on one of said locking elements for wedging said device against the-bail with a horizontal force, and means extending through the structure of said bearings and adjustable to apply a substantially vertical force to the ends of the bail for preventing vertical movement of the bail while it is wedged by said locking elements.

3. An iron including a body portion, a handle comprising a grip and a bail secured to said grip, hinge means connecting the bail to the body portion for angular movement about an axis extending lengthwise of the body portion, a stop against which the bail contacts when the handle is swung into upright position, a wall on th body portion, and a lock movable into a position where it is wedged between the bail and wall for clamping the bail against said stop.

4. An iron comprising a body, a handle, a bail secured to the handle, aligned end portions on the ball, hearings on the body of the iron for receiving the aligned end portions of the bail and in which the end portions of the bail oscillate to permit movement of the handle between upright and folded positions, said bearings including grooves in the body extending lengthwise of the body, a block overlying each of said grooves and having a recess in substantial register'with the groove but of shallow depth so that the wall of the groove contacts with the bail before the faces of the block on both sides of the groove contact with th body of the iron, a screw extending through ach block and threading into the body of the iron for clamping each block against the end portion of the bail immediately below it, each of said screws being located just beyond the end of the bail that it'clamps and being formed with threads of slow pitch that re- 5 tain the screw at any set tension for the desired clamping action withoutlocking the screw, a stop against which the bail abuts when swung into an upright position, a sloping wall spaced from said stop and forming with said stop a slot of decreasing width toward its bottom and of greater width than the bail, a lock comprising a lever that swings down into the slot and wedges the bail against the stop, a fulcrum on which the locking lever swings, said fulcrum comprising a screw threaded through a fixed part of the body portion of the iron and having an unthreaded end portion that extends through an opening in the lever and having a shoulder at the end of said unthreaded end portion in posi- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Reichold June 7, 1938 Number 

